Author: John Teh Added: December 17, 2006
It's probably a too common phrase to hear on the internet marketing scene that "the money is in the list", but only to a certain extent if you know how to manage it efficiently, and most importantly, giving the subscribers what they actually want - information, useful information. Not your constant set of recommendations of affiliate products. Having said that, you may have already guessed, that the main reason is nothing other than SELLING TOO MUCH with your list.
I'm not in anyway calling myself an experienced list builder or an expert in the internet marketing field, but I'm saying this from a subscriber's perspective and point of view. I would say that I've subscribed to hundreds of lists out of interest of receiving more information closely related to the owner's products or just simply because that's the only way I could access an offer from the site. And yes, I've unsubscribed almost 70 to 90% of them after being hammered relentlessly with disguised affiliate links. Trust me, anybody could smell that it's an affiliate link even from a distance. Even if you're a well recognized, credible individual, the increasing frequency of selling tones in your mailing emails won't do good for your reputation in the long run.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying that you shouldn't subscribe to any mailing lists anymore, as there's still a huge number of great individuals who prioritise their subscriber's level of satisfaction, hence giving the reason why they're standing tall today with tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of subscribers in their lists. I'm also not in anyway pointing out the fact that you cannot "recommend" products through your list, as I believe some of them do come from really irresistible joint venture offers. Just keep it low, probably once or twice a month. If you want more, communicate with your subscribers, get their feedback and response in your future plans of increasing the number of offers. If you get an obvious NO to your request, then don't do it.
At this point, some of you might say that if the list owners don't send out offers, then how do I get updated with the latest products in the market? You might even miss a great application or ebook which could save you a great deal of time doing it the conventional way. The answer is simple, there are tones of websites out there which announce and review just recently launched products. Go there and do your background research. Forums and blogs do cover this newly launched products as well together with the very much essential user feedbacks and testimonials. Yes those sites will recommend the products with their affiliate links too, but you always have the option not to go through their affiliate link if you don't want to.
Gary Halbert, a well known copywriter and "the prince of print", once said that as he was (and still is) constantly giving great free useful information on his website and to his announcement list, his subscribers went to the extent of actually asking him if he had anything to sell so that they could buy it from him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's the exact reversed situation of product marketing. Buyers actually marketing themselves as a potential buyer to you, as a seller. And how on Earth did that happen? You can ask Gary Halbert yourself or you could just simply do one simple thing - reduce your selling emails to your list and start giving useful, concrete, or what others would say, the exact thing what typical subscribers would want - Good Useful Information. Again, as I have mentioned above, I'm no expert in anyway to say or advice you on such areas, but don't tell me Gary Halbert isn't. And no, I'm not promoting his website or his services, it's just that I came across the above mentioned situation, expressed by Gary Halbert himself in his website, which I was greatly impressed of what the consequences were. He is no doubt a living proof that such things do happen.
My conclusion - treat your subscribers well, give them what they really want, stop misinterpreting that the money is in the list, and from a single subscriber's point of view, I would say that they will eventually do the same thing to you as what they did to Gary Halbert. Although it came just merely from a person, I hope that it will somehow open up somebody's eyes that the money is indeed in the list, ONLY if you don't live with the term too religiously and treat it with a logical sense of approach.
John Teh is an annoyed and frustrated subscriber from various mailing lists on the net and just couldn't resist in sharing his thoughts on the real brutal feedback from an individual's viewpoint.
He is also a full time web designer and an internet entrepreneur that specializes in building and realizing online presence for small to large companies. He currently runs his own web designing company with the help of other great inspirational designers. Get to know more of Motion Edge Design, Web Design Malaysia at http://www.motionedgedesign.com
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